The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday was briefed by the provincial chief secretaries about compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and smart lockdowns enforced across the country.

The NCOC meeting chaired by Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar reviewed the update on targeted smart lockdowns enforced across the country, decisions and action points of NCC, oxygen and cylinders import and quantity finalisation vis-a-vis disease projections and need for assessment of critical medical equipment.

Speaking on the occasion, Asad Umar suggested that the provincial governments should issue notifications to private corporations and offices to avoid taking any punitive action against employees living in smart lockdown restricted areas for not attending offices. He said that efforts and measures taken to contain the pandemic would show results after 15 days and the provincial governments should ensure strict compliance with the measures taken so far.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary said around 500,000 people’s movement was restricted through the smart lockdowns enforced so far, with focus on urban areas like Peshawar, Malakand, Swat, Haripur, Nowshera and Mardan. There was no activity or increased risk of coronavirus outbreak in other seven districts, including Kohistan and Upper Chitral, he said.

The Punjab chief secretary said eight main cities were under lockdown and movement of less than a million people was restricted. He said there was over 80 percent compliance with the directive about wearing masks in public places. A strict enforcement drive was going on and as many as 12,000 transport vehicles were fined for violating SOPs and health guidelines.

The chief secretary of Sindh told the forum that almost 24 districts with 5 million population were restricted through smart lockdowns.

The chief secretary of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) said a total of 59 smart lockdowns were imposed in the valley where SOPs compliance had improved. He said that district administrations were providing free masks to masses on violation of SOPs.

The chief secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan informed the forum that deputy commissioners in the provinces were authorised to lockdown the areas reporting maximum coronavirus patients. He added that the general public was complying with the SOPs.